Second Scope Advice

[Stardaze]

So is being a 'dob owner' a tinkerers delight? I'm hoping I've bought into a dob that will last me a good few years. If anything, I'd probably complement it one day with a frack or mak, but that's a good while away, after an Orion base ha!

 

@johninderby I note you've added a handle to the base, is that to assist moving in use?

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stardaze

[John]

3 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

So is being a 'dob owner' a tinkerers delight? I'm hoping I've bought into a dob that will last me a good few years. If anything, I'd probably complement it one day with a frack or mak, but that's a good while away, after an Orion base ha!

Yes. There are almost endless modifications or improvements that you can make. As long as the optics are good then the rest of the stuff can be swapped / modified / tweaked to get the scope as you want it to be.

 

 

[Stardaze]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Yes. There are almost endless modifications or improvements that you can make. As long as the optics are good then the rest of the stuff can be swapped / modified / tweaked to get the scope as you want it to be.

 

 

Have mirrors got a general life expectancy under ‘normal usage’ John?

[johninderby]

Added the handle to make it easy to carry the base one handed although already had the handle so a zero cost mod. The Bresser really doesn’t need much doing in the way of modding though. More just adding a few extras. 

Castors make it a lot easier to move around but are particularily useful indoors as you can roll the whole scope into a corner or a closet without lifting the tube off the base.

Edited May 10, 2020 by johninderby

[Stardaze]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

Added the handle to make it easy to carry one handed although already had the handle so a zero cost mod. The Bresser really doesn’t need much doing in the way of modding though. More just adding a few extras. 

Castors make it a lot easier to move around but are particularily useful indoors as you can roll the whole scope into a corner or a closet without lifting the tube off the base.

I've discounted castors for now on the basis that my patio isn't that castor friendly (plans to sort that soon!) I've thought about building an adjustable base so that I can level it anywhere, we'll see. I do think that 10" isn't too wieldly and can drag it around fairly easily, not sure how a 14" or above would bein use. 

[johninderby]

Dobs don’t need to be perfectly level. More or less is good enough. Only need leveling if it has GOTO or you are using an EQ platform.

[Stardaze]

51 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Dobs don’t need to be perfectly level. More or less is good enough. Only need leveling if it has GOTO or you are using an EQ platform.

Should elaborate...there's a spot in my garden that works nicely but is a nuisance, and, I've got more time on my hands than normal 😁

Did I clock that you also have a mak? Storing my camera kit isn't too bad, but several telescopes would probably earn me a decree nisi.

[johninderby]

5 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Should elaborate...there's a spot in my garden that works nicely but is a nuisance, and, I've got more time on my hands than normal 😁

Did I clock that you also have a mak? Storing my camera kit isn't too bad, but several telescopes would probably earn me a decree nisi.

Mak, Classical Cassegrain and a couple of regractors.

[Stardaze]

7 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Mak, Classical Cassegrain and a couple of regractors.

Wow! So what gets used when? What’s the mak?

[johninderby]

The StellaMira 80mm f/10 is my favourite of my regular scopes but the mak is a very portable grab’n’go scope. The Classical Cassegrain is the best lunar scope of the bunch and gives better views of the moon than the dob.

The mak is an Omegon 127 mak with a 1.25” crayford focuser added.

Last but not least is a very special scope. Big Red which I built myself using Japanese optics. Doesn’t get used a lot but gives magical views when I do set it up. 

[Stardaze]

33 minutes ago, johninderby said:

The StellaMira 80mm f/10 is my favourite of my regular scopes but the mak is a very portable grab’n’go scope. The Classical Cassegrain is the best lunar scope of the bunch and gives better views of the moon than the dob.

The mak is an Omegon 127 mak with a 1.25” crayford focuser added.

Last but not least is a very special scope. Big Red which I built myself using Japanese optics. Doesn’t get used a lot but gives magical views when I do set it up. 

Looks like  a lifetimes obsession John 😃

Does the StellaMira take some setting up? How much sharper are the images for planetary subjects and do you do a little astrophography? Sorry, lots of questions that's intriguing for a newbie working out what is used for what purpose. I can translate this into my lens collection (and many I've owned)

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stardaze

[John]

2 hours ago, Stardaze said:

Have mirrors got a general life expectancy under ‘normal usage’ John?

My Orion Optics 12 inch dobs mirror was re-coated by Orion Optics in 2010. The coatings still look very bright. I wash the mirror about once per year.

Storage can be an issue if you have lots of scopes. I have 6 currently in my dining room including the 12 inch dobsonian. Luckily we don't entertain much ...

[Stardaze]

12 minutes ago, John said:

My Orion Optics 12 inch dobs mirror was re-coated by Orion Optics in 2010. The coatings still look very bright. I wash the mirror about once per year.

Storage can be an issue if you have lots of scopes. I have 6 currently in my dining room including the 12 inch dobsonian. Luckily we don't entertain much ...

How old is the dob John? Do they dull with age? I was under the impression that washing mirrors was a very last resort? So many questions...

[johninderby]

Just something about looking through a good refractor. Very sharp and contrasty and can be usedon a photo tripod setup.Have taken a few shots with a smartphone but will be seeing how I get on with a proper astro camera shortly.

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by johninderby

[Stardaze]

35 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Just something about looking through a good refractor. Very sharp and contrasty and can be usedon a photo tripod setup.Have taken a few shots with a smartphone but will be seeing how I get on with a proper astro camera shortly.

 

Looks great! Not going to get carried away, will enjoy my dob this winter and learn what I can. But, I do fancy a frac and I have the ‘legs’ to put one on too ha! What’s the mount you have there?

[johninderby]

Manfrotto 405 geared head modded by having the cemtre section removed to make it an alt-az mount. 

[Stardaze]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Manfrotto 405 geared head modded by having the cemtre section removed to make it an alt-az mount. 

I thought it was a manfrotto head but it didn't quite look right.

[johninderby]

7 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

I thought it was a manfrotto head but it didn't quite look right.

It’s been on my workbench. 😁😁😁

[Stardaze]

6 minutes ago, johninderby said:

It’s been on my workbench. 😁😁😁

I actually don't use geared heads, favour ball heads, but I have various manfrotto tri pods, so a third of the way there..

[John]

1 hour ago, Stardaze said:

How old is the dob John? Do they dull with age? I was under the impression that washing mirrors was a very last resort? So many questions...

The optical tube assembly (OTA) dates from 2006. Originally it was used on a huge equatorial mount by and imager. I bought it used about 5-6 years ago (I think ???). An SGL friend made the dobsonian mount along the same lines as the Orion Optics mounts but using Baltic plywood.

If the mirror does not need washing, I don't touch it. You can have quite a bit of dirt / debris on the mirror without it affecting the image.

The reflectivity of mirror coatings does gradually reduce over time. I have seen a % figure somewhere but I can't recall what it is

 

[johninderby]

There was an SGL member who got hold of an OO dob that had been stored in a closet for I think it was 17 years but once the mirror had been cleaned the mirror was fine. Storing the dob inside in the dry does seem to keep the mirror from deteriorating. 

[Stardaze]

16 minutes ago, John said:

The optical tube assembly (OTA) dates from 2006. Originally it was used on a huge equatorial mount by and imager. I bought it used about 5-6 years ago (I think ???). An SGL friend made the dobsonian mount along the same lines as the Orion Optics mounts but using Baltic plywood.

If the mirror does not need washing, I don't touch it. You can have quite a bit of dirt / debris on the mirror without it affecting the image.

The reflectivity of mirror coatings does gradually reduce over time. I have seen a % figure somewhere but I can't recall what it is

 

 

11 minutes ago, johninderby said:

There was an SGL member who got hold of an OO dob that had been stored in a closet for I think it was 17 years but once the mirror had been cleaned the mirror was fine. Storing the dob inside in the dry does seem to keep the mirror from deteriorating. 

What are the tell-tale signs, or is it quite noticeable just by looking at them? My little starter was bought 5 years ago and I didn't really look after it other than some time spent in the garage and some of those years in a spare room, the primary had some dust on it but it looked perfectly ok to the eye, to me?

[johninderby]

If the mirror is dirty can be hard to see but when cleaned may show pinholes in the coating or dull patches. 

Found the thread about the old OO mirror.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/352419-mirror-coating-or-cleaning-needed-for-my-10-oo/?tab=comments#comment-3839385

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by johninderby

[Guest]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Just something about looking through a good refractor. Very sharp and contrasty and can be usedon a photo tripod setup.Have taken a few shots with a smartphone but will be seeing how I get on with a proper astro camera shortly.

 

 

Did you enhance the image of the moon, at all?  It looks really stunning!

[johninderby]

Just a single frame and no enhancement at all other than playing with the brightness and contrast.